Packaging major Tetra Pak has doubled its existing installed capacity in India with the inauguration of its new Greenfield plant in Chakan, making this the Group’s largest plant outside of Sweden.
Built with an investment of Rs 700 crore, the new facility can make 8.5 billion packages a year, and provides for ramping this up to 16 million packages annually. The company has also moved the operations from its earlier location at Takwe to the new plant.
“India is the biggest dairy market in the world and we see tremendous opportunities in this sector and in other fields as well,” Dennis Jonsson, President and CEO, Tetra Pak Group, said.
The company presently exports around 40% of its production and the new facility will cater both to domestic growth as well as newer exports markets including South Asia and the Middle East.
For Tetra Pak, India accounts for 10-12% of its revenues worldwide and was growing at an annual rate of 15-20%, he added.
Tetra Pak sources approximately 65% of the paper it uses in its packaging locally, and imports the aluminium foil and polymer. Efforts are underway to increase the local content, Kandarp Singh, MD, Tetra Pak, South Asia markets said.
The new facility at Chakan also houses centres for product development and innovation and for renovating filling machines.